The Man, The Mystery, the Master: What's Hiding Under the Helmet of Halo's Master Chief?

While we can assure you that a bodacious, kick-ass woman isn't waiting beneath the iconic green mask of the Halo series' Master Chief, what we can't do is provide you with a fully unveiled likeness of 343 Industries' intergalactic man of mystery.

Or can we...

I don't know what I was expecting.

All jokes aside (for now), today marks the sixth anniversary of the release of Bungie's Halo: Reach (which, coincidentally, was also the sixth installment in the Halo series), and we here in the Now Loading office are getting nostalgic for all things "mastery" and "chiefy," but there must be more to the enigmatic man of green than a CG-rendered suit of Spartan armor.

The True Face of Halo's Master Chief

Master Chief's sultry voice has tickled the cilia of our ears since 2001 (start at 1:05 in this video for a good time), leaving many fans yearning for more. We want a face to go with all that power, that confidence, that testosterone.

"[...] an older man, almost painfully pale, almost albino white, with pale blue eyes, reddish hair, close cropped to a skin head, and maybe the last remnants of freckles he had when he was a kid."

Considering our jade-encrusted friend almost never takes his armor off, it's understandable that he'd be pale (somebody spot him a couple of free sessions at the tanning salon), but the rest of his description could fit just about any battle-hardened marine, soldier, or alien annihilator... so why do we care so much about what this Clint-Eastwood-in-space looks like? Perhaps because 343 insists on giving us just enough to make us thirsty for more?

I thought by now you'd realize, there ain't no way to hide your lyin' eyes…

Halo 4's legacy ending gives us the tiniest glimpse of MC's unyielding gaze and austere brows before cutting to black, which one fan used to create a full face render:

A face only a mother could love.

I have to say that, while the picture is excellently done and meshes with the shot we're shown in Halo 4, I'm in no way drawn to this man the way I'm drawn to the erotic mystery saturating every green pore of the good Master's armored visage. Perhaps that's why his face has been such a well-kept secret? After all, should a big reveal ever occur, all hype surrounding John-117's facial structure will disappear faster than you can say "hooooooome ruuuuuun."

Whether or not McChief's face ever does end up seeing the light of day, fans will always have their own interpretations, their own mental images, and their own erotic fantasies of what exactly the chief with a beef looks like under all that cumbersome armor.

Even if it's something like this:

Eat your heart out, Steve Buscemi.

I, for one, am in no hurry to see the big guy's face, but in the end, it'll all come down to the dream team at 343 Industries. Could Halo 6 be the game that finally offers us the full monty of the Halo series? Only time will tell.

In the meantime, why not enjoy a few laughs over what our favorite celebrities would look like beneath that iconic visor! Can you identify all eight?

1.

Poll

Who am I?

Harrison Ford

Clint Eastwood

Bill Murray

Liam Neeson

Answer below:

Clint Eastwood

2.

Poll

Who am I?

Mifune Toshiro

Watanabe Ken

Asano Tadanobu

Beat Takeshi

Answer below:

Asano Tadanobu

3.

Poll

Who am I?

Jack Gleeson

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

Iwan Rheon

Kit Harington

Answer below:

Kit Harington

4.

Poll

Who am I?

James Stewart

Marlon Brando

Humphrey Bogart

Orson Welles

Answer below:

Marlon Brando

5.

Poll

Who am I?

Robert De Niro

Joe Pesci

Christopher Walken

Al Pacino

Answer below:

Robert De Niro

6.

Poll

Who am I?

Will Smith

Denzel Washington

Samuel L. Jackson

Morgan Freeman

Answer below:

Samuel L. Jackson

7.

Poll

Who am I?

Alan Thicke

Ty Burrell

Jon Hamm

William H. Macy

Answer below:

Ty Burrell

8.

Poll

Who am I?

Bryan Cranston

Brad Pitt

Hugh Jackman

Ryan Gosling

Answer below:

Bryan Cranston

Do you want a glimpse of the Master Chief's face? Or are you fine living in your own world of fantasy? Let us know!